Independent lighting energy interruption system and method

ABSTRACT

An auxiliary lighting energy interruption system for use with snow plows and like front-mounted vehicle accessories is disclosed which facilitates the interconnection of such auxiliary lighting energy interruption systems to the lighting system of a vehicle upon which the vehicle accessory is mounted to provide power to and to control the auxiliary lights with the lighting system of the vehicle. The independent lighting energy interruption system provides first and second harness portions for respective installation on the vehicle and the vehicle accessory, with the first harness portion having a first configuration when it is not connected to the second harness portion and a second configuration when it is connected to the second harness portion. The first configuration allow the headlights on the vehicle to operate, while the second configuration allows only the headlights on the vehicle accessory to operate, with changes between the first and second configurations being accomplished without the need for a switch or a relay. The first harness portion may be of modular construction, with a main portion having a standard configuration and one or more auxiliary portions being used to adapt the main portion to any of a wide variety of vehicles.

This patent application is a continuation-in-part of copending U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/047,303, filed on Jan. 31, 2005, entitled“Independent Lighting System and Method,” which patent application isassigned to the assignee of the present invention, and which patentapplication is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to auxiliary lighting systemssuch as those found on snow plows and like front-mounted vehicleaccessories, and more particularly to a wiring harness for facilitatingthe interconnection of such auxiliary lighting systems to the lightingsystem of a vehicle upon which the vehicle accessory is mounted toprovide power to and to control the auxiliary lights with the lightingsystem of the vehicle.

Snow plows and like front-mounted vehicle accessories are mounted onvehicles such as pickup trucks or sport utility vehicles (SUV's) havebeen in use for some time, and such snow plows allow the quick andconvenient plowing and removal of snow using the vehicle. Such snowplows and like front-mounted vehicle accessories are removable from thevehicle so that they need be attached to the vehicle only when needed(for snow plows, during the winter season when they will be used, withsnow plows typically being removed from the vehicle for the balance ofthe year). Since such front-mounted vehicle accessories are mounted atthe front of the vehicle in a position and at a level in front of thefront end of the vehicle, they obstruct the lights of the vehicle,thereby necessitating the inclusion of lights on the vehicle accessory(for snow plows, in a position above the blade of the snow plow). It isparticularly important to include headlights on such vehicle accessorieswhich may be used at night (snow plows are frequently used in the earlymorning hours following a snow storm, well prior to sunrise).

Such front-mounted vehicle accessories typically have auxiliaryheadlights which are mounted on lighting bars located on the frames ofthe vehicle accessories. Since front-mounted vehicle accessories aremounted on vehicles in positions which obstruct the headlights of thevehicles, the headlights of vehicles having such vehicle accessoriesmounted thereon are typically disconnected. This is done for tworeasons, the first of which is that since the headlights of a vehiclehaving a front-mounted vehicle accessory are obstructed by the vehicleaccessory, and thus the headlights of the vehicle do not provide usefullight and are redundant in view of the headlights mounted on the vehicleaccessory. The second reason is that the simultaneous use of bothheadlights on a vehicle and headlights on a front-mounted vehicleaccessory will require a high current drain which will have a number ofadverse effect on the vehicle ranging from blowing the fuses on theheadlights circuit to potentially and rapidly draining the battery anddisabling the vehicle.

For this reason, lighting systems on front-mounted vehicle accessoriesare designed to allow the headlights of the vehicle to be disconnectedand instead to operate the headlights of the vehicle accessory from thelighting system of the vehicle. Early examples of such lighting systemsfor use with snow plows are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,280,062, to Milleret al., and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,420,480, to Knepel et al., both of whichare hereby incorporated herein by reference. The Miller et al. referenceshows an auxiliary light wiring harness which plugs into the lightingsystem of the vehicle and provides a switch which allows an operator ofthe vehicle to select either the vehicle headlights or the snow plowheadlights. This system of course has the substantial disadvantage ofrunning extended lengths of wiring through which the electrical currentoperating the headlights must travel, potentially resulting in lossesand diminished brightness from the headlights.

The Knepel et al. shows an automatic headlight switching system whichutilizes relays to perform the function of switching between the vehicleheadlights or the snow plow headlights. A connector is provided toconnect the portion of the wiring harness of the headlight switchingsystem in the vehicle to the portion of the wiring harness on the snowplow. The headlight system detects when the lighting harness of the snowplow is plugged into the wiring harness of the vehicle and actuates therelays to connect the headlights on the snow plow and to disconnect theheadlights on the vehicle.

More recently, there have been several additional systems which may beused to interconnect the lighting system of a vehicle with the wiringsystem of a front-mounted vehicle accessory such as a snow plow.Examples of such systems are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,005,300, to Kelly,in U.S. Pat. No. 6,265,829, to Perdec, and in U.S. Pat. No. 6,396,210,to Menze, all of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. TheKelly reference uses a lighting switch connected to an independentcircuit to operate a control module which switches power between thevehicle headlights and the auxiliary headlights. The Perdec referenceuses a microprocessor module which may be wirelessly controlled tocontrol the operation of and switching between the vehicle headlightsand the auxiliary headlights. The Menze reference discloses a headlightadapter system which uses modular wiring harnesses and connectors with aheadlight selector switch to switch power between the vehicle headlightsand auxiliary snow plow headlights.

All of these references have one thing in common in that each of themrequire a switching mechanism of some sort to switch between operationof the vehicle headlights and operation of the auxiliary headlights. Thereason for the requirement of a switch is simple—each of thesereferences adds a wiring harness which is permanently installed in thevehicle, and which plugs into a wiring harness located on thefront-mounted vehicle accessory. Since it is a requirement that thevehicle headlights and the auxiliary headlights not be operatedsimultaneously, at least not with both at full intensity, in order toprevent excessive current drain, these previously known systems eachrequire the use of a switch to select either the vehicle headlights orthe auxiliary headlights.

It is accordingly the primary objective of the present invention that itprovide an independent lighting system for facilitating the operation ofauxiliary headlights which automatically disconnects the vehicleheadlights whenever the auxiliary headlights are connected for operationwith the lighting system of the vehicle. It is a related objective ofthe present invention that it completely eliminate the need for any typeof switch to choose between the vehicle headlights and the auxiliaryheadlights, relying instead upon a design that will automaticallydisconnect the vehicle headlights and automatically connect theauxiliary headlights when the wiring harness of the front-mountedvehicle accessory is connected to the wiring harness of the vehicle. Itis another related objective of the present invention that it eliminatethe need for any relays or additional electronic components to perform aswitching function between the vehicle headlights and the auxiliaryheadlights.

It is a further objective of the present invention that it feature asimplified design which does not require any wiring or other connectionto the passenger compartment of the vehicle in which it is to beinstalled. It is a related objective of the present invention that it berelatively simple and quick to install, and that it does not requireeither advanced knowledge of vehicle electrical systems or special toolsin order to accomplish its installation. It is yet another objective ofthe present invention that it provide sealed connectors to protectagainst the elements to which it will be exposed in operation. It is arelated objective of the present invention that it not rely upon theneed for connector caps to protect its connectors, but rather that iteliminate the need for such caps, thereby precluding the possibility ofsuch caps being lost or misplaced.

The independent lighting system of the present invention must also be ofconstruction which is both durable and long lasting, and it should alsorequire little or no maintenance to be provided by the user throughoutits operating lifetime. In order to enhance the market appeal of theindependent lighting system of the present invention, it should also beof inexpensive construction to thereby afford it the broadest possiblemarket. Finally, it is also an objective that all of the aforesaidadvantages and objectives of the independent lighting system of thepresent invention be achieved without incurring any substantial relativedisadvantage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The disadvantages and limitations of the background art discussed aboveare overcome by the present invention. With this invention, anindependent lighting system consists of a first wiring harness portionthat is connected to the lights of a conventional vehicle lightingsystem located at the front of the vehicle, and a second wiring harnessportion that is connected to auxiliary lights mounted on a vehicleaccessory such as a snow plow. The lights which are respectivelyconnected to the two wiring harnesses include, at a minimum, theheadlights of the vehicle and auxiliary headlights on the vehicleaccessory.

The headlights of vehicles typically utilize modular connectors, witheach of the headlights having prongs extending from the back sidethereof and the vehicle wiring harness having headlight plugs which areplugged onto the prongs extending from the back side of the headlights.The first harness portion of the independent lighting system of thepresent invention includes connectors which fit between the headlightplugs and the prongs extending from the back side of the headlights. Aheadlight connector is plugged onto the prongs extending from the backside of each of the headlights, replacing the headlight plugs. Aheadlight power connector is plugged into each of the headlight plugs,which were plugged onto the prongs extending from the back side of theheadlights prior to installation of the independent lighting system ofthe present invention.

In the preferred embodiment, the first harness portion of theindependent lighting system of the present invention that is located inthe vehicle includes a universal main vehicle harness portion and rightand left auxiliary harness portions which are each plugged in to themain vehicle harness portion (the right auxiliary harness portion is forconnection to the headlight on the right side of the vehicle, and theleft auxiliary harness portion is for connection to the headlight on theleft side of the vehicle). Each of the right and left auxiliary harnessportions has an auxiliary harness connector as well as a headlightconnector and a headlight power connector. The auxiliary harnessconnectors on the right and left auxiliary harness portions mate withauxiliary harness connectors on the main vehicle harness portion.

The main vehicle harness portion has two additional mating harnessconnectors, with one of the harness connectors being a male harnessconnector and the other of the harness connectors being a female harnessconnector. Prior to installation of the vehicle accessory, the male andfemale harness connectors on the main vehicle harness portion of theindependent lighting system of the present invention are connectedtogether, and the headlights of the vehicle operate in their normalfashion. It should be noted that if the male and female harnessconnectors on the main vehicle harness portion are not connectedtogether, the headlights of the vehicle will not operate.

The second harness portion of the independent lighting system of thepresent invention is connected to headlights mounted on the vehicleaccessory, and in the preferred embodiment the second harness portionincludes right and left halves. The right half of the second harnessportion is connected to a headlight on the right side of the vehicleaccessory, and the left half of the second harness portion is connectedto a headlight on the left side of the vehicle accessory. Each half ofthe second harness portion has a harness connector, with the harnessconnectors on the right and left halves of the second harness portionbeing mating connectors, with one of the harness connectors being a maleharness connector and the other of the harness connectors being a femaleharness connector.

When the vehicle accessory is mounted on the vehicle, the harnessconnectors on main vehicle harness portion in the vehicle aredisconnected from each other, and are respectively connected to theharness connectors on the second harness portion on the vehicleaccessory. In the preferred embodiment, the harness connector on theright side of the second harness portion on the vehicle accessory willbe connected to the main vehicle harness connector corresponding to theright side lighting of the vehicle, and the harness connector on theleft side of the second harness portion on the vehicle accessory will beconnected to the main vehicle harness connector corresponding to theleft side lighting of the vehicle. Since the harness connectors are maleand female mating connectors, it will be appreciated by those skilled inthe art that the proper interconnections of the two harness portionswill be ensured. It will also be appreciated by those skilled in the artthan one of the harness connectors in the second harness portion on thevehicle accessory is male, while the other harness connector in thesecond harness portion is female.

When the first harness portion in the vehicle is so connected to thesecond harness portion on the vehicle accessory, the headlights on thevehicle accessory will be operated by the headlight controls of thevehicle, and the headlights of the vehicle are disconnected and will notoperate. This includes both high beams and low beams of the headlights.When the vehicle accessory is to be disconnected and removed from thevehicle, the first harness portion is disconnected from the secondharness portion, with the harness connectors in the first harnessportion in the vehicle being connected together to reconnect theheadlights in the vehicle. In addition, the harness connectors in thesecond harness portion on the vehicle accessory may be connectedtogether to protect them from corrosion. In the preferred embodiment,the harness connectors in both of the first and second harness portionsare of weatherproof design and have a sealing construction to protectthem from the elements and corrosion.

In the preferred embodiment of the independent lighting system of thepresent invention, the first and second harness portions also includewiring and connections to operate parking lights and turn signals on thevehicle accessory when it is installed on the vehicle. Since parkinglights and turn signals on some recent vehicles draw too much current tooperate simultaneously with the parking lights and the turn signals onthe vehicle, the parking lights and the turn signals on the vehicle willbe deactivated when the harness connectors of the first harness portionare connected to the harness connectors in the second harness portion,or when the harness connectors in the first harness portion aredisconnected.

There are a number of different embodiments of the independent lightingenergy interruption system of the present invention as described herein,with the different versions being characterized by different auxiliaryharness connectors. In all embodiments, both the electrically hotconnections to the headlights and the electrically hot connections tothe parking lights and turn signals are interrupted by the when thefirst and second harness portions are connected together. In the variousembodiments, both the main vehicle harness as well as the left and rightharness portions of the vehicle accessory are unchanged irrespective ofwhich vehicle the vehicle accessory is connected to. Only the right andleft auxiliary harnesses need vary from one vehicle to the next.

It may therefore be seen that the present invention teaches anindependent lighting system which facilitates the operation of auxiliaryheadlights by automatically disconnecting the vehicle headlightswhenever the auxiliary headlights are connected for operation with thelighting system of the vehicle. The independent lighting system of thepresent invention completely eliminates the need for any type of switchto choose between the vehicle headlights and the auxiliary headlightsdue to its design that allows the mere connection of the wiring harnessof the front-mounted vehicle accessory to the wiring harness of thevehicle to disconnect the vehicle headlights and to connect theauxiliary. The independent lighting system of the present invention alsoeliminates the need for any relays or additional electronic componentsto perform a switching function between the vehicle headlights and theauxiliary headlights.

The independent lighting system of the present invention features asimplified design which does not require any wiring or other connectionto the passenger compartment of the vehicle in which it is installed.The independent lighting system of the present invention is relativelysimple and quick to install, and that it requires neither advancedknowledge of vehicle electrical systems nor special tools in order toaccomplish its installation. The independent lighting system of thepresent invention provides sealed connectors to protect against theelements to which it will be exposed in operation, and does not relyupon the need for connector caps to protect its connectors, but rathereliminates the need for such caps entirely, thereby precluding thepossibility of their loss or misplacement.

The independent lighting system of the present invention is of aconstruction which is both durable and long lasting, and will requirelittle or no maintenance to be provided by the user throughout itsoperating lifetime. The independent lighting system of the presentinvention is also of inexpensive construction to enhance its marketappeal and to thereby afford it the broadest possible market. Finally,all of the aforesaid advantages and objectives of the independentlighting system of the present invention are achieved without incurringany substantial relative disadvantage.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other advantages of the present invention are best understoodwith reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic depiction of a portion of a conventional vehiclelighting system showing the lights located at the front of the vehicle,and also showing connectors which are used to connect the two headlightsto the vehicle lighting system to provide power to the headlights;

FIG. 2 is a schematic depiction of auxiliary lights located on a vehicleaccessory which must be connected to the vehicle lighting system shownin FIG. 1 to operate the auxiliary lights;

FIG. 3 is a schematic depiction of a first embodiment of an independentlighting system which is constructed to connect and operate theauxiliary lights located on a vehicle accessory shown in FIG. 2 to thevehicle lighting system shown in FIG. 1, with the auxiliary lights notconnected to the vehicle lighting system;

FIG. 4 is a schematic depiction of the first embodiment independentlighting system illustrated in FIG. 3, but with the auxiliary lightsconnected to the vehicle lighting system;

FIG. 5 is a schematic depiction of a second embodiment of an independentlighting system which is constructed to connect and operate theauxiliary lights located on a vehicle accessory shown in FIG. 2 to thevehicle lighting system shown in FIG. 1, with the auxiliary lights notconnected to the vehicle lighting system;

FIG. 6 is a schematic depiction of the second embodiment independentlighting system illustrated in FIG. 5, but with the auxiliary lightsconnected to the vehicle lighting system;

FIG. 7 is a schematic depiction of a third embodiment of an independentlighting system which is constructed to connect and operate theauxiliary lights located on a vehicle accessory shown in FIG. 2 to thevehicle lighting system shown in FIG. 1, with the auxiliary lights notconnected to the vehicle lighting system;

FIG. 8 is a schematic depiction of the third embodiment independentlighting system illustrated in FIG. 7, but with the auxiliary lightsconnected to the vehicle lighting system;

FIG. 9 is a schematic depiction of a fourth embodiment of an independentlighting system which is constructed to connect and operate theauxiliary lights located on a vehicle accessory shown in FIG. 2 to avehicle lighting system like that shown in FIG. 1 but optionally withoutvehicle ground used as the common for the vehicle headlights, with theauxiliary lights not connected to the vehicle lighting system;

FIG. 10 is a schematic depiction of the fourth embodiment independentlighting system illustrated in FIG. 9, but with the auxiliary lightsconnected to the vehicle lighting system;

FIG. 11 is a schematic depiction of an alternate embodiment of anindependent lighting system which is constructed to connect and operatethe auxiliary lights located on a vehicle accessory shown in FIG. 2 tolike that shown in FIG. 1 but optionally without vehicle ground used asthe common for the vehicle headlights, with the auxiliary lights notconnected to the vehicle lighting system;

FIG. 12 is a schematic depiction of the alternate embodiment independentlighting system illustrated in FIG. 9, but with the auxiliary lightsconnected to the vehicle lighting system;

FIG. 13 is an isometric view showing the independent lighting system ofthe present invention installed intermediate the lights of aconventional vehicle lighting system that are located at the front ofthe vehicle and the auxiliary lights of a vehicle accessory forinstallation onto the front of the vehicle;

FIG. 14 is an embodiment of an independent lighting energy interruptionsystem which is constructed according to the teachings of the presentinvention to connect and operate the auxiliary lights located on avehicle accessory shown in FIG. 2 to the vehicle lighting system shownin FIG. 1, with the auxiliary lights not connected to the vehiclelighting system;

FIG. 15 is a schematic depiction of the embodiment of the independentlighting energy interruption system illustrated in FIG. 14, but with theauxiliary lights connected to the vehicle lighting system;

FIG. 16 is another embodiment of an independent lighting energyinterruption system which is constructed according to the teachings ofthe present invention to connect and operate the auxiliary lightslocated on a vehicle accessory shown in FIG. 2 to a vehicle lightingsystem having modular connectors used with combined high beam/low beamheadlights, with the auxiliary lights not connected to the vehiclelighting system;

FIG. 17 is still another embodiment of an independent lighting energyinterruption system which is constructed according to the teachings ofthe present invention to connect and operate the auxiliary lightslocated on a vehicle accessory shown in FIG. 2 to a vehicle lightingsystem having separate headlight bulbs and separate modular connectorsfor high and low beams, with the auxiliary lights not connected to thevehicle lighting system;

FIG. 18 is yet another embodiment of an independent lighting energyinterruption system which is constructed according to the teachings ofthe present invention to connect and operate the auxiliary lightslocated on a vehicle accessory shown in FIG. 2 to the vehicle lightingsystem having separate headlight bulbs and separate modular connectorsfor high and low beams as well as having separate marker bulbs and turnsignal bulbs and separate modular connectors for the marker bulbs andthe turn signal bulbs, with the auxiliary lights not connected to thevehicle lighting system; and

FIG. 19 is an isometric view showing the independent lighting energyinterruption system of the present invention as illustrated in FIG. 18installed intermediate the lights of a conventional vehicle lightingsystem that are located at the front of the vehicle and the auxiliarylights of a vehicle accessory for installation onto the front of thevehicle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Prior to a description of the present invention, it is helpful tobriefly review several of the principal elements of lighting systemsused in vehicles and vehicle accessories, and a few features of theircommon construction. Referring first to FIG. 1, the lights of aconventional vehicle lighting system which are located at the front of avehicle 30 are illustrated, together with their connection to theelectrical system of the vehicle 30. A headlight 32 having a connectorelement 34 (typically prongs extending from the back side thereof) islocated on the right side of the vehicle 30 and a headlight 36 having aconnector element 38 (also typically prongs extending from the back sidethereof) is located on the left side of the vehicle 30.

A headlight plug 40 is shown for connection to the connector element 34on the headlight 32, and a headlight plug 42 is shown for connection tothe connector element 38 on the headlight 36. The headlight plugs 40 and42 are shown as each being electrically connected to a high beam feed (ahigh beam electrically hot connection), a low beam feed (a low beamelectrically hot connection), and a vehicle ground. The high beam feedand the vehicle ground are both connected to a high beam filament ineach of the headlights 32 and 36, and the low beam feed and the vehicleground are both connected to a low beam filament in each of theheadlights 32 and 36.

Also included in the vehicle 30 is a parking/turn light 44 on the rightside of the vehicle 30 and a parking/turn light 46 on the left side ofthe vehicle 30. The parking/turn lights 44 and 46 are shown as eachbeing electrically connected to a parking light feed (a parking lightelectrically hot connection), a turn signal feed (a turn signalelectrically hot connection), and the vehicle ground. The parking lightfeed and the vehicle ground are both connected to a parking lightfilament in each of the parking/turn lights 44 and 46, the right turnsignal feed and the vehicle ground are connected to a turn signalfilament in the parking/turn light 44, and the left turn signal feed andthe vehicle ground are connected to a turn signal filament in theparking/turn light 46.

Referring next to FIG. 2, the auxiliary lights located on a vehicleaccessory 50 to be operated by the vehicle lighting system of thevehicle 30 (shown in FIG. 1) are illustrated, together with connectionsto be made to the electrical system of the vehicle 30 to operate them. Aheadlight 52 is located on the right side of the vehicle accessory 50and a headlight 54 is located on the left side of the vehicle accessory50. The headlights 52 and 54 are shown as each being electricallyconnected to a vehicle high beam feed (a high beam electrically hotconnection from the vehicle 30), a vehicle low beam feed (a low beamelectrically hot connection from the vehicle 30), and a vehicle ground(from the vehicle 30). The vehicle high beam feed and the vehicle groundare both connected to a high beam filament in each of the headlights 52and 54, and the vehicle low beam feed and the vehicle ground are bothconnected to a low beam filament in each of the headlights 52 and 54.

Also included in the vehicle accessory 50 is a parking/turn light 56 onthe right side of the vehicle accessory 50 and a parking/turn light 58on the left side of the vehicle accessory 50. The parking/turn lights 56and 58 are shown as each being electrically connected to a vehicleparking light feed (a parking light electrically hot connection from thevehicle 30), a vehicle turn signal feed (a turn signal electrically hotconnection from the vehicle 30), and the vehicle ground (from thevehicle 30). The vehicle parking light feed and the vehicle ground areboth connected to a parking light filament in each of the parking/turnlights 56 and 58, the vehicle right turn signal feed and the vehicleground are connected to a turn signal filament in the parking/turn light56, and the vehicle left turn signal feed and the vehicle ground areconnected to a turn signal filament in the parking/turn light 58.

The independent lighting energy interruption system of the presentinvention includes modular harness portions which are for installationinto the lighting system of the vehicle 30, and a harness portion whichis for installation into the auxiliary lighting system of the vehicleaccessory 50. The vehicle harness portions will be connected to theelectrical wiring operating the headlights 32 and 34 by insertingelements of the vehicle harness portions between the connector element34 of the headlight 32 and the headlight plug 40, and between theconnector element 38 of the headlight 36 and the headlight plug 42 (allof which are shown in FIG. 1). In the preferred embodiments, the vehicleharness portions will also be installed into the electrical wiringoperating the parking/turn lights 44 and 46.

The vehicle harness portions in the vehicle 30 have a firstconfiguration when it they are not connected to the accessory harnessportion in the vehicle accessory 50, and a second configuration whenthey are connected to the accessory harness portion in the vehicleaccessory 50. In the first configuration, the vehicle harness portionswill allow the headlights 32 and 36 in the vehicle 30 to operate, but inthe second configuration, the vehicle harness portions will not allowthe headlights 32 and 36 in the vehicle 30 to operate. Instead, theheadlights 52 and 54 in the vehicle accessory 50 will be allowed tooperate. Changes between the two configurations are accomplished by theindependent lighting system without using a single switch or relay.

An earlier embodiment of the independent lighting system described inthe above-identified parent patent application is shown in threeembodiments in FIGS. 3 and 4, FIGS. 5 and 6, and FIGS. 7 and 8,respectively. In each of these three embodiments, the vehicle harnessportions in the vehicle 30 consist of right and left halves, each ofwhich has a harness connector. Similarly the accessory harness portionin the vehicle accessory 50 also consists of right and left halves, eachof which has a harness connector.

In each of these three embodiments, the harness connectors on the rightand left halves of the first harness portion are different halves of amating pair. Likewise, the harness connectors on the right and lefthalves of the second harness portion are different halves of a matingpair of the same design as the harness connectors of the first harnessportion. In the first configuration of the first harness portion, theharness connector on the right half of the first harness portion isconnected to the harness connector on the left half of the first harnessportion. In the second configuration of the first harness portion, theharness connector on the right half of the first harness portion isconnected to the harness connector on the right half of the secondharness portion, and the harness connector on the left half of the firstharness portion is connected to the harness connector on the left halfof the second harness portion.

The harness-connectors may be, for example, sealed connectors such asthe MX150 series environmentally sealed connectors available from Molex,Inc. of Lisle, Ill. The MX150 connector has connector housings withintegrated two-way sealing to form a seal between mating connectors andan integral releasable locking latch to assure positive mating of theconnector halves. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the artthat when the harness connectors on the right and left sides of thefirst harness portion in the vehicle 30 are connected together in thefirst configuration, the right and left connectors of the second harnessportion in the vehicle accessory 50 can also be connected together toprotect them from exposure to the elements. Thus, in both the firstconfiguration and in the second configuration, all four of the harnessconnectors on the first and second harness portions are protected,without requiring the use of sealing caps.

Referring first to FIG. 3, a first version of the independent lightingsystem is shown in the first configuration (which is used when thevehicle accessory 50 is not connected to the vehicle 30). The firstharness portion consists of a right side first harness portion 60 and aleft side first harness portion 62, and the second harness portionconsists of a right side second harness portion 64 and a left sidesecond harness portion 66. The right side first harness portion 60includes a headlight connector 68 which is connected to the connectorelement 34 of the headlight 32, a headlight power connector 70 which isconnected to the headlight plug 40, and a right side first harnessconnector 72. The left side first harness portion 62 includes aheadlight connector 74 which is connected to the connector element 38 ofthe headlight 36, a headlight power connector 76 which is connected tothe headlight plug 42, and a left side first harness connector 78.

The right side second harness portion 64 has a right side second harnessconnector 80, and the left side second harness portion 66 has a leftside second harness connector 82. The right side first harness connector72 will mate with the left side first harness connector 78 or with theright side second harness connector 80, but not with the left sidesecond harness connector 82. The left side first harness connector 78will mate with the right side first harness connector 72 or with theleft side second harness connector 82, but not with the right sidesecond harness connector 80. The right side second harness connector 80and the left side second harness connector 82 will also mate with eachother. In FIGS. 3 and 4, the right side first harness connector 72 andthe left side second harness connector 82 are female connectors, and theleft side first harness connector 78 and the right side second harnessconnector 80 are male connectors, but this configuration could bereversed.

In the first version of the independent lighting system shown in FIGS. 3and 4, the right side first harness connector 72, the left side firstharness connector 78, the right side second harness connector 80, andthe left side second harness connector 82 are all nine-pin connectors.With regard to the right side first harness connector 72, pins 1, 3, and5 are respectively connected to the headlight power connector 70 as thelow beam feed, the high beam feed, and the vehicle ground. Pins 2, 4,and 9 of the right side first harness connector 72 are respectivelyconnected to the headlight connector 68 as the high beam lead, thecommon (ground) lead, and the low beam lead. Pin 7 of the right sidefirst harness connector 72 is connected to the right turn signal feedusing a right turn signal feed tap 84, and pin 8 of the right side firstharness connector 72 is connected to the parking light feed using aparking light feed tap 86.

With regard to the left side first harness connector 78, Pins 1, 3, and5 are respectively connected to the headlight connector 74 as the lowbeam lead, the high beam lead, and the common (ground) lead. Pins 2, 4,and 9 of the left side first harness connector 78 are respectivelyconnected to the headlight power connector 76 as the high beam feed, thevehicle ground, and the low beam feed. Pin 6 of the left side firstharness connector 78 is connected to the left turn signal feed using aleft turn signal feed tap 88, and Pin 8 of the left side first harnessconnector 78 is connected to the parking light feed using a parkinglight feed tap 90.

With regard to the right side second harness connector 80, Pin 1 isconnected to the low beam lead of the headlight 52, Pin 3 is connectedto the high beam lead of the headlight 52, Pin 5 is connected to thecommon (ground) leads of both the headlight 52 and the parking/turnlight 56, Pin 7 is connected to the right turn signal lead of theparking/turn light 56, and Pin 8 is connected to the parking light feedof the parking/turn light 56. With regard to the left side secondharness connector 82, Pin 2 is connected to the high beam lead of theheadlight 54, Pin 4 is connected to the common (ground) leads of boththe headlight 54 and the parking/turn light 58, Pin 6 is connected to isconnected to the left turn signal lead of the parking/turn light 58, Pin8 is connected to the parking light feed of the parking/turn light 58,and Pin 9 is connected to the low beam lead of the headlight 54.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the firstversion of the independent lighting system illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4switches both the hot leads and the common leads from the headlights 32and 36 of the vehicle 30 to the headlights 52 and 54 of the vehicleaccessory 50. When the right side first harness connector 72 and theleft side first harness connector 78 are connected together as shown inFIG. 3, the headlights 32 and 36 of the vehicle 30 will be operative. Ifthe right side first harness connector 72 and the left side firstharness connector 78 are not connected to each other, the headlights 32and 36 of the vehicle 30 will be inoperative.

Referring now to FIG. 4, the first version of the independent lightingsystem is shown in the second configuration (which is used when thevehicle accessory 50 is connected to the vehicle 30). When the rightside first harness connector 72 is connected to the right side secondharness connector 80 and the left side first harness connector 78 isconnected to the left side second harness connector 82, the headlights52 and 54 of the vehicle accessory 50 will be operative, and theheadlights 32 and 36 of the vehicle 30 will not be operative.

Referring next to FIG. 5, a second version of the independent lightingsystem is shown in the first configuration (which is used when thevehicle accessory 50 is not connected to the vehicle 30). The firstharness portion consists of a right side first harness portion 100 and aleft side first harness portion 102, and the second harness portionconsists of a right side second harness portion 104 and a left sidesecond harness portion 106. The right side first harness portion 100includes a headlight connector 108 which is connected to the connectorelement 34 of the headlight 32, a headlight power connector 110 which isconnected to the headlight plug 40, and a right side first harnessconnector 112. The left side first harness portion 102 includes aheadlight connector 114 which is connected to the connector element 38of the headlight 36, a headlight power connector 116 which is connectedto the headlight plug 42, and a left side first harness connector 118.

The right side second harness portion 104 has a right side secondharness connector 120, and the left side second harness portion 106 hasa left side second harness connector 122. The right side first harnessconnector 112 will mate with the left side first harness connector 118or with the right side second harness connector 120, but not with theleft side second harness connector 122. The left side first harnessconnector 118 will mate with the right side first harness connector 112or with the left side second harness connector 122, but not with theright side second harness connector 120. The right side second harnessconnector 120 and the left side second harness connector 122 will alsomate with each other. In FIGS. 5 and 6, the right side first harnessconnector 112 and the left side second harness connector 122 are femaleconnectors, and the left side first harness connector 118 and the rightside second harness connector 120 are male connectors, but thisconfiguration could be reversed.

In the second version of the independent lighting system shown in FIGS.5 and 6, the right side first harness connector 112, the left side firstharness connector 118, the right side second harness connector 120, andthe left side second harness connector 122 are all eight-pin connectors.With regard to the right side first harness connector 112, pins 1 and 3are respectively connected to the headlight power connector 110 as thehigh beam feed and the low beam feed. Pins 2 and 4 of the right sidefirst harness connector 112 are respectively connected to the headlightconnector 108 as the high beam lead and the low beam lead. Pin 5 of theright side first harness connector 112 is connected to both theheadlight connector 108 as the common (ground) lead and to the headlightpower connector 110 as the vehicle ground. Pin 7 of the right side firstharness connector 112 is connected to the right turn signal feed using aright turn signal feed tap 124, and pin 8 of the right side firstharness connector 112 is connected to the parking light feed using aparking light feed tap 126.

With regard to the left side first harness connector 118, pins 1 and 3are respectively connected to the headlight connector 114 as the highbeam lead and the low beam lead. Pins 2 and 4 of the left side firstharness connector 118 are respectively connected to the headlight powerconnector 116 as the high beam feed and the low beam feed. Pin 5 of theleft side first harness connector 118 is connected to both the headlightconnector 114 as the common (ground) lead and to the headlight powerconnector 116 as the vehicle ground. Pin 6 of the left side firstharness connector 118 is connected to the left turn signal feed using aleft turn signal feed tap 128, and pin 8 of the left side first harnessconnector 118 is connected to the parking light feed using a parkinglight feed tap 130.

With regard to the right side second harness connector 120, pin 1 isconnected to the high beam lead of the headlight 52, pin 3 is connectedto the low beam lead of the headlight 52, pin 5 is connected to thecommon (ground) leads of both the headlight 52 and the parking/turnlight 56, pin 7 is connected to the right turn signal lead of theparking/turn light 56, and pin 8 is connected to the parking light feedof the parking/turn light 56. With regard to the left side secondharness connector 122, pin 2 is connected to the high beam lead of theheadlight 54, pin 4 is connected to the low beam lead of the headlight54, pin 5 is connected to the common (ground) leads of both theheadlight 54 and the parking/turn light 58, pin 6 is connected to theleft turn signal lead of the parking/turn light 58, and pin 8 isconnected to the parking light feed of the parking/turn light 58.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the secondversion of the independent lighting system illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6switches only the hot leads from the headlights 32 and 36 of the vehicle30 to the headlights 52 and 54 of the vehicle accessory 50. When theright side first harness connector 112 and the left side first harnessconnector 118 are connected together as shown in FIG. 5, the headlights32 and 36 of the vehicle 30 will be operative. If the right side firstharness connector 112 and the left side first harness connector 118 arenot connected to each other, the headlights 32 and 36 of the vehicle 30will be inoperative.

Referring now to FIG. 6, the second version of the independent lightingsystem is shown in the second configuration (which is used when thevehicle accessory 50 is connected to the vehicle 30). When the rightside first harness connector 112 is connected to the right side secondharness connector 120 and the left side first harness connector 118 isconnected to the left side second harness connector 122, the headlights52 and 54 of the vehicle accessory 50 will be operative, and theheadlights 32 and 36 of the vehicle 30 will not be operative.

Referring next to FIG. 7, a third version of the independent lightingsystem is shown in the first configuration (which is used when thevehicle accessory 50 is not connected to the vehicle 30). The firstharness portion consists of a right side first harness portion 140 and aleft side first harness portion 142, and the second harness portionconsists of a right side second harness portion 144 and a left sidesecond harness portion 146. The right side first harness portion 140includes a headlight connector 148 which is connected to the connectorelement 34 of the headlight 32, a headlight power connector 150 which isconnected to the headlight plug 40, and a right side first harnessconnector 152. The left side first harness portion 142 includes aheadlight connector 154 which is connected to the connector element 38of the headlight 36, a headlight power connector 156 which is connectedto the headlight plug 42, and a left side first harness connector 158.

The right side second harness portion 144 has a right side secondharness connector 160, and the left side second harness portion 146 hasa left side second harness connector 162. The right side first harnessconnector 152 will mate with the left side first harness connector 158or with the right side second harness connector 160, but not with theleft side second harness connector 162. The left side first harnessconnector 158 will mate with the right side first harness connector 152or with the left side second harness connector 162, but not with theright side second harness connector 160. The right side second harnessconnector 160 and the left side second harness connector 162 will alsomate with each other. In FIGS. 7 and 8, the right side first harnessconnector 152 and the left side second harness connector 162 are femaleconnectors, and the left side first harness connector 158 and the rightside second harness connector 160 are male connectors, but thisconfiguration could be reversed.

In the third version of the independent lighting system shown in FIGS. 7and 8, the right side first harness connector 152, the left side firstharness connector 158, the right side second harness connector 160, andthe left side second harness connector 162 are all seven-pin connectors.With regard to the right side first harness connector 152, pin 3 isconnected to the headlight connector 148 as the common (ground) lead,and pin 4 is connected to the headlight power connector 150 as thevehicle ground. Pin 1 is connected both to the headlight connector 148as the high beam lead and to the headlight power connector 150 as thehigh beam feed. Pin 2 is connected both to the headlight connector 148as the low beam lead and to the headlight power connector 150 as the lowbeam feed. Pin 6 of the right side first harness connector 152 isconnected to the right turn signal feed using a right turn signal feedtap 164, and pin 7 of the right side first harness connector 152 isconnected to the parking light feed using a parking light feed tap 166.

With regard to the left side first harness connector 158, pin 3 isconnected to the headlight power connector 156 as the vehicle ground,and pin 4 is connected to the headlight connector 154 as the common(ground) lead. Pin 1 is connected both to the headlight connector 154 asthe high beam lead and to the headlight power connector 156 as the highbeam feed. Pin 2 is connected both to the headlight connector 154 as thelow beam lead and to the headlight power connector 156 as the low beamfeed. Pin 5 of the left side first harness connector 158 is connected tothe left turn signal feed using a left turn signal feed tap 168, and pin7 of the left side first harness connector 158 is connected to theparking light feed using a parking light feed tap 170.

It will be noted that there are also four diodes 172, 174, 176, and 178which are used in the version of the independent lighting system of thepresent invention shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. The diode 172 is located withits cathode connected to the high beam lead of the headlight connector148 and its anode connected to the high beam feed of the headlight powerconnector 150. The diode 174 is located with its cathode connected tothe low beam lead of the headlight connector 148 and its anode connectedto the low beam feed of the headlight power connector 150. The diode 176is located with its cathode connected to the-high beam lead of theheadlight connector 154 and its anode connected to the high beam feed ofthe headlight power connector 156. The diode 178 is located with itscathode connected to the low beam lead of the headlight connector 154and its anode connected to the low beam feed of the headlight powerconnector 156.

With regard to the right side second harness connector 160, pin 1 isconnected to the high beam lead of the headlight 52, pin 2 is connectedto the low beam lead of the headlight 52, pin 4 is connected to thecommon (ground) leads of both the headlight 52 and the parking/turnlight 56, pin 6 is connected to the right turn signal lead of theparking/turn light 56, and pin 7 is connected to the parking light feedof the parking/turn light 56. With regard to the left side secondharness connector 162, pin 1 is connected to the high beam lead of theheadlight 54, pin 2 is connected to the low beam lead of the headlight54, pin 3 is connected to the common (ground) leads of both theheadlight 54 and the parking/turn light 58, pin 5 is connected to isconnected to the left turn signal lead of the parking/turn light 58, pin7 is connected to the parking light feed of the parking/turn light 58.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the thirdversion of the independent lighting system illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8switches only the common leads from the headlights 32 and 36 of thevehicle 30 to the headlights 52 and 54 of the vehicle accessory 50. Whenthe right side first harness connector 152 and the left side firstharness connector 158 are connected together as shown in FIG. 7, theheadlights 32 and 36 of the vehicle 30 will be operative. If the rightside first harness connector 152 and the left side first harnessconnector 158 are not connected to each other, the headlights 32 and 36of the vehicle 30 will be inoperative.

The diodes 172, 174, 176, and 178 act to prevent reverse current pathsthrough the high and low beams of the headlights 32 and 36 of thevehicle 30 and the nonoperated one of the high and low beam bulbs ineach of the headlights 52 and 54 of the vehicle accessory 50. Withoutthe diodes 172, 174, 176, and 178, the high and low beams of theheadlights 32 and 36 of the vehicle 30 and the nonoperated one of thehigh and low beam bulbs in each of the headlights 52 and 54 of thevehicle accessory 50 will all be dimly illuminated whenever the otherone of headlights 52 and 54 of the vehicle accessory 50, resulting in ahigher level of current drain.

Referring now to FIG. 8, the third version of the independent lightingsystem is shown in the second configuration (which is used when thevehicle accessory 50 is connected to the vehicle 30). When the rightside first harness connector 152 is connected to the right side secondharness connector 160 and the left side first harness connector 158 isconnected to the left side second harness connector 162, the headlights52 and 54 of the vehicle accessory 50 will be operative, and theheadlights 32 and 36 of the vehicle 30 will not be operative.

Referring next to FIG. 9, a fourth version of the independent lightingsystem is shown in the first configuration (which is used when thevehicle accessory 50 is not connected to a vehicle 30′). This version isdesigned to work on either the conventional vehicle 30 shown in FIG. 2,or on the vehicle 30′ which (unlike the conventional vehicle 30 shown inFIG. 2) does not use the vehicle ground as the common lead for thevehicle headlights. Such vehicles may use the vehicle power as thecommon lead, in which case the common lead from the headlight controlsand the ground lead from the parking/turn lights cannot be connectedtogether as is the case in the first, second, and third versionsrespectively illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, FIGS. 5 and 6, and FIGS. 7and 8.

The first harness portion consists of a right side first harness portion180 and a left side first harness portion 182, and the second harnessportion consists of a right side second harness portion 184 and a leftside second harness portion 186. The right side first harness portion180 includes a headlight connector 188 which is connected to theconnector element 34 of the headlight 32, a headlight power connector190 which is connected to the headlight plug 40, and a right side firstharness connector 192. The left side first harness portion 182 includesa headlight connector 194 which is connected to the connector element 38of the headlight 36, a headlight power connector 196 which is connectedto the headlight plug 42, and a left side first harness connector 198.

The right side second harness portion 184 has a right side secondharness connector 200, and the left side second harness portion 186 hasa left side second harness connector 202. The right side first harnessconnector 192 will mate with the left side first harness connector 198or with the right side second harness connector 200, but not with theleft side second harness connector 202. The left side first harnessconnector 198 will mate with the right side first harness connector 192or with the left side second harness connector 202, but not with theright side second harness connector 200. The right side second harnessconnector 200 and the left side second harness connector 202 will alsomate with each other. In FIGS. 9 and 10, the right side first harnessconnector 192 and the left side second harness connector 202 are femaleconnectors, and the left side first harness connector 198 and the rightside second harness connector 200 are male connectors, but thisconfiguration could be reversed.

In the fourth embodiment of the independent lighting system shown inFIGS. 9 and 10, the right side first harness connector 192, the leftside first harness connector 198, the right side second harnessconnector 200, and the left side second harness connector 202 are allten-pin connectors. With regard to the right side first harnessconnector 192, Pin 1 is connected to the headlight power connector 190as the low beam feed, pin 3 is connected to the headlight powerconnector 190 as the high beam feed, and Pin 5 is connected to theheadlight power connector 190 as the common feed. Pin 2 is connected tothe headlight connector 188 as the high beam lead, Pin 4 is connected tothe headlight connector 188 as the common lead, and Pin 9 is connectedto the headlight connector 188 as the low beam feed. Pin 7 is connectedto the right turn signal feed using a right turn signal feed tap 204,Pin 8 is connected to the right parking light feed using a right parkinglight feed tap 206, and Pin 10 is connected to the right parking/turnlight ground feed using a right parking/turn light ground feed tap 208.

With regard to the left side first harness connector 198, Pin 2 isconnected to the headlight power connector 196 as the high beam feed,pin 4 is connected to the headlight power connector 196 as the commonfeed, and Pin 9 is connected to the headlight power connector 196 as thelow beam feed. Pin 1 is connected to the headlight connector 194 as thelow beam lead, Pin 3 is connected to the headlight connector 194 as thehigh beam lead, and Pin 5 is connected to the headlight connector 194 asthe common feed. Pin 6 is connected to the left turn signal feed using aleft turn signal feed tap 210, Pin 8 is connected to the left parkinglight feed using a left parking light feed tap 212, and Pin 10 isconnected to the left parking/turn light ground feed using a leftparking/turn light ground feed tap 214.

With regard to the right side second harness connector 200, Pin 1 isconnected to the low beam lead of the headlight 52, Pin 3 is connectedto the high beam lead of the headlight 52, Pin 5 is connected to thecommon lead of the headlight 52, Pin 7 is connected to the right turnsignal lead of the parking/turn light 56, Pin 8 is connected to theparking light feed of the parking/turn light 56, and Pin 10 is connectedto the common lead of the parking/turn light 56. With regard to the leftside second harness connector 202, Pin 2 is connected to the high beamlead of the headlight 54, Pin 4 is connected to the common lead of theheadlight 54, Pin 9 is connected to the low beam lead of the headlight54, Pin 6 is connected to is connected to the left turn signal lead ofthe parking/turn light 58, Pin 8 is connected to the parking light feedof the parking/turn light 58, and Pin 10 is connected to the common leadof the parking/turn light 58.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the fourthversion of the independent lighting system illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10switches both the hot leads and the common leads from the headlights 32and 36 of the vehicle 30′ to the headlights 52 and 54 of the vehicleaccessory 50, and also independently connects the hot leads and thecommon leads from the parking/turn lights 44 and 46 of the vehicle 30′to the parking/turn lights 56 and 58 of the vehicle accessory 50. Whenthe right side first harness connector 192 and the left side firstharness connector 198 are connected together as shown in FIG. 9, theheadlights 32 and 36 of the vehicle 30′ will be operative. If the rightside first harness connector 192 and the left side first harnessconnector 198 are not connected to each other, the headlights 32 and 36of the vehicle 30′ will be inoperative.

Referring now to FIG. 10, the fourth version of the independent lightingsystem is shown in the second configuration (which is used when thevehicle accessory 50 is connected to the vehicle 30′). When the rightside first harness connector 192 is connected to the right side secondharness connector 200 and the left side first harness connector 198 isconnected to the left side second harness connector 202, the headlights52 and 54 of the vehicle accessory 50 will be operative, and theheadlights 32 and 36 of the vehicle 30′ will not be operative.

An alternate embodiment of the independent lighting system is shown inFIGS. 11 and 12. In this alternate embodiment, there is a single firstharness portion 220 which is located in the vehicle 30′ and a singlesecond harness portion 222 which is located on the vehicle accessory 50,and each contains only a single harness connector. This version is alsodesigned to work on either the conventional vehicle 30 shown in FIG. 2,or on the vehicle 30′ which (unlike the conventional vehicle 30 shown inFIG. 2) does not use the vehicle ground as the common lead for thevehicle headlights.

The first harness portion 220 includes a headlight connector 224 whichis connected to the connector element 34 of the headlight 32, aheadlight power connector 226 which is connected to the headlight plug40, a headlight connector 228 which is connected to the connectorelement 38 of the headlight 36, a headlight power connector 230 which isconnected to the headlight plug 42, and a first harness connector 232.The second harness portion 222 has a second harness connector 234.

Also included in the alternate embodiment illustrated in FIG. 11 is ajumpered connector 236. The first harness connector 232 will mate withthe jumpered connector 236 or with the second harness connector 234. InFIGS. 11 and 12, the first harness connector 232 is a female connectorand the second harness connector 234 and the jumpered connector 236 aremale connectors, but this configuration could be reversed.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the first harness connector232, the second harness connector 234, and the jumpered connector 236are each sixteen-pin connectors. With regard to the first harnessconnector 232, Pin 1 is connected to the headlight connector 224 as thelow beam lead, Pin 2 is connected to the headlight connector 224 as thecommon lead, and Pin 3 is connected to the headlight connector 224 asthe high beam lead. Pin 6 is connected to the headlight power connector226 as the high beam feed, Pin 7 is connected to the headlight powerconnector 226 as the common feed, and Pin 8 is connected to theheadlight power connector 226 as the low beam feed.

Pin 14 is connected to the headlight connector 228 as the low beam lead,Pin 15 is connected to the headlight connector 228 as the common lead,and Pin 16 is connected to the headlight connector 228 as the high beamlead. Pin 9 is connected to the headlight power connector 230 as thehigh beam feed, Pin 10 is connected to the headlight power connector 230as the common feed, and Pin 11 is connected to the headlight powerconnector 230 as the low beam feed.

Pin 5 is connected to the right turn signal feed using a right turnsignal feed tap 238, and Pin 13 is connected to the left turn signalfeed using a left turn signal feed tap 240. Pin 12 is connected to theleft parking light feed using a parking light feed tap 242 (but couldalternately be connected to the right parking light feed instead). Pin 4is connected to the right parking/turn light ground feed using aparking/turn light ground feed tap 244 (but could alternately beconnected to the left parking/turn light ground feed instead).

With regard to the second harness connector 234, Pin 6 is connected tothe high beam lead of the headlight 52, Pin 7 is connected to the commonlead of the headlight 52, and Pin 8 is connected to the low beam lead ofthe headlight 52. Pin 9 is connected to the high beam lead of theheadlight 54, Pin 10 is connected to the common lead of the headlight54, and Pin 11 is connected to the low beam lead of the headlight 54.Pin 5 is connected to the right turn signal lead of the parking/turnlight 56, and Pin 13 is connected to the left turn signal lead of theparking/turn light 58. Pin 12 is connected to the parking light feed ofthe parking/turn lights 56 and 58, and Pin 4 is connected to the commonlead of the parking/turn lights 56 and 58.

With regard to the jumpered connector 236, Pin 1 is jumpered to Pin 8,Pin 2 is jumpered to Pin 7, Pin 3 is jumpered to Pin 6, Pin 9 isjumpered to Pin 16, Pin 10 is jumpered to Pin 15, Pin 11 is jumpered toPin 14.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the alternateembodiment illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12 switches both the hot leadsand the common leads from the headlights 32 and 36 of the vehicle 30′ tothe headlights 52 and 54 of the vehicle accessory 50, and alsoindependently connects the hot leads and the common leads from theparking/turn lights 44 and 46 of the vehicle 30′ to the parking/turnlights 56 and 58 of the vehicle accessory 50. (Those skilled in the artwill appreciate that designs using single first and second harnessconnectors could instead be implemented with either the hot leads beingswitched or with only the common leads being switched and diodes beingused as in the third version of the preferred embodiment illustrated inFIGS. 7 and 8.) When the jumpered connector 236 is connected to thefirst harness connector 232 as shown in FIG. 11, the headlights 32 and36 of the vehicle 30′ will be operative. If the first harness connector232 and the jumper connector 236 are not connected to each other, theheadlights 32 and 36 of the vehicle 30′ will be inoperative.

Referring now to FIG. 12, the alternate embodiment of the independentlighting system is shown in the second configuration (which is used whenthe vehicle accessory 50 is connected to the vehicle 30′). When thefirst harness connector 232 is connected to the second harness connector234, the headlights 52 and 54 of the vehicle accessory 50 will beoperative, and the headlights 32 and 36 of the vehicle 30′ will not beoperative.

Referring next to FIG. 13, the first version of the independent lightingsystem, which was illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, is illustrated issimplified form as it would likely appear, with the same referencenumerals used in FIGS. 3 and 4 being used in FIG. 13. The right sidefirst harness connector 72 is shown in position for connection to theright side second harness connector 80 to operate the headlight 52 andthe parking/turn light 56 on the vehicle accessory 50 (the vehicleaccessory 50 is not shown in FIG. 11), and the left side first harnessconnector 78 is shown in position for connection to the left side secondharness connector 82 to operate the headlight 54 and the parking/turnlight 58 on the vehicle accessory 50. In this position, the headlights32 and 36 of the vehicle 30 (the vehicle 30 is not shown in FIG. 11)will be inoperative. The right side first harness connector 72 and theleft side first harness connector 78 are shown in position forconnection together in phantom lines to render the headlights 32 and 36operative when the vehicle accessory 50 has been removed from thevehicle 30.

The preferred embodiment of the independent lighting energy interruptionsystem of the present invention is illustrated in four embodiments inFIGS. 14 and 15, FIG. 16, FIG. 17, and FIG. 18, respectively. Thephysical construction of the fourth of these embodiments of theindependent lighting energy interruption system is shown in FIG. 19. Ineach of these four embodiments of the independent lighting energyinterruption system of the present invention, the vehicle harnessportions in the vehicle 30′ consist of a main vehicle harness portionand right side and left side auxiliary harness portions which areplugged into the main vehicle harness portion. In all four embodiments,the main vehicle harness portion is identical, with the right side andleft side auxiliary harness portions varying from embodiment toembodiment. The accessory harness portion in the vehicle accessory 50consists of right side and left side accessory harnesses, and isidentical in all four embodiments.

The other distinction of the independent lighting energy interruptionsystem of the present invention from the independent lighting systemshown in FIGS. 3 through 13 is that while the main vehicle harnessportion in the independent lighting energy interruption system may beviewed as having two halves like the independent lighting system, thetwo halves are wired together with a number of cross-connectionstherebetween. The design of the independent lighting energy interruptionsystem of the present invention facilitates the use of a single mainvehicle harness which will work with virtually any vehicle, with theright side and left side auxiliary harness portions being essentiallyadapters which are tailored for the differing electrical systems of anyof a wide variety of different vehicles.

Referring now to FIG. 14, the portion of the first embodiment of theindependent lighting energy interruption system which is located in thevehicle 30′ is illustrated in the first configuration (which is usedwhen the vehicle accessory 50 is not connected to the vehicle 30′). Thisembodiment is suitable for use with a vehicle in which all of theelectrical connections of the independent lighting energy interruptionsystem are to be made by cutting and splicing wires. The portion of theindependent lighting energy interruption system which is located in thevehicle consists of a main vehicle harness portion 300, a right sideauxiliary harness portion 302, and a left side auxiliary harness portion304.

The main vehicle harness portion 300 has a right side portion which isconnected to the electrical system of the vehicle 30′ with a right sidemain harness connector 306, and a left side portion which is connectedto the electrical system of the vehicle with a left side main harnessconnector 308. The right side portion of the main vehicle harnessportion 300 is designed to be connected to the vehicle accessory 50 (notshown in FIG. 14) with a right side vehicle harness connector 310, andthe left side of the main vehicle harness portion 300 is likewisedesigned to be connected to the vehicle accessory 50 with a left sidevehicle harness connector 312.

The right side auxiliary harness portion 302 has a right side auxiliaryharness connector 314 to connect it to the right side main harnessconnector 306 of the main vehicle harness portion 300. The left sideauxiliary harness portion 304 has a left side auxiliary harnessconnector 316 to connect it to the left side main harness connector 308of the main vehicle harness portion 300.

Referring for the moment to FIG. 15, the first embodiment of the entireindependent lighting energy interruption system of the presentinvention, including the portion which is located in the vehicleaccessory 50, is illustrated in the second configuration (which is usedwhen the vehicle accessory 50 is connected to the vehicle 30′). Theportion of the independent lighting energy interruption system locatedin the vehicle accessory 50 includes a right side accessory harness 320and a left side accessory harness 322. The right side accessory harness320 has a right side accessory connector 324 and the left side accessoryharness 322 has a left side accessory connector 326.

The right side vehicle harness connector 310 will mate with the leftside vehicle harness connector 312 (as shown in FIG. 14) or with theright side accessory connector 324 (as shown in FIG. 15), but not withthe left side accessory connector 326. The left side vehicle harnessconnector 312 will mate with the right side vehicle harness connector310 or with the left side accessory connector 326, but not with theright side accessory connector 324. The right side accessory connector324 and the left side accessory connector 326 will also mate with eachother. In FIGS. 14 and 15, the right side vehicle harness connector 310and the left side accessory connector 326 are female connectors, and theleft side first harness connector 78 and the right side accessoryconnector 324 are male connectors, but this configuration could bereversed. In the preferred embodiment, the right side vehicle harnessconnector 310, the left side vehicle harness connector 312, the rightside accessory connector 324, and the left side accessory connector 326are color coded in a first color (such as black).

In the first embodiment of the preferred embodiment shown in FIGS. 14and 15, the right side vehicle harness connector 310, the left sidevehicle harness connector 312, the right side auxiliary harnessconnector 314, and the left side auxiliary harness connector 316 are allten-pin connectors. Referring now solely to FIG. 14, Pins 1, 2, 3, 4, 6,8, 9, and 10 of the right side vehicle harness connector 310 arerespectively connected to pins 5, 2, 8, 9, 7, 3, 4, and 10 of the rightside main harness connector 306. Pins 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, and 10 of theleft side vehicle harness connector 312 are respectively connected topins 2, 8, 9, 5, 6, 3, 4, and 10 of the left side main harness connector308.

In addition, there are four connections between the right and lefthalves of the right side vehicle harness connector 310. Pins 5 and 7 ofthe right side vehicle harness connector 310 are respectively connectedto pins 1 and 7 of the left side main harness connector 308. Pins 1 and6 of the left side vehicle harness connector 312 are respectivelyconnected to pins 1 and 6 of the right side main harness connector 306.The main vehicle harness portion 300 with this wiring schematic will beused in all four of the embodiments of the independent lighting energyinterruption system of the present invention discussed herein withreference to FIGS. 14 and 15, FIG. 16, FIG. 17, and FIGS. 18 and 19.

The right side main harness connector 306 will mate with the right sideauxiliary harness connector 314, but not with the left side auxiliaryharness connector 316. The left side main harness connector 308 willmate with the left side auxiliary harness connector 316, but not withthe right side auxiliary harness connector 314. The left side mainharness connector 308 and the right side auxiliary harness connector 314are female connectors, and the right side main harness connector 306 andthe left side auxiliary harness connector 316 are male connectors, butthis configuration could be reversed. In the preferred embodiment, theright side main harness connector 306, the left side main harnessconnector 308, the right side auxiliary harness connector 314, and theleft side auxiliary harness connector 316 are color coded in a secondcolor (such as green). In the first embodiment of the preferredembodiment shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the right side main harnessconnector 306, the left side main harness connector 308, the right sideauxiliary harness connector 314, and the left side auxiliary harnessconnector 316 are all ten-pin connectors.

The right side auxiliary harness portion 302 and the left side auxiliaryharness portion 304 used in the first embodiment of the independentlighting energy interruption system of the present invention shown inFIGS. 14 and 15 are hard-wired embodiments in which the wires of theright side auxiliary harness portion 302 and the left side auxiliaryharness portion 304 are directly connected to the vehicle lightingelectrical wiring.

Referring first to the right side vehicle lighting electrical wiring, itmay be seen that the electrical connection between the high beamswitched feed and the high beam lead to the headlight 32 is cut, and theelectrical connection between the low beam switched feed and the lowbeam lead to the headlight 32 is cut. Likewise, the electricalconnection between the parking light feed and the parking light lead tothe parking/turn light 44 is cut, and the electrical connection betweenthe right turn light feed and the right turn light lead to theparking/turn light 44 is cut. However, the electrical connection betweenthe light common feed and the light common lead to the headlight 32 isnot cut, and the electrical connection between the vehicle ground feedand the vehicle ground lead to the parking/turn light 44 is not cut.

Pins 3 and 4 of the right side auxiliary harness connector 314 arerespectively connected to the high beam switched feed and the low beamswitched feed. Pins 8 and 9 of the right side auxiliary harnessconnector 314 are respectively connected to the high beam lead of theheadlight 32 and the low beam lead of the headlight 32. Pin 2 of theright side auxiliary harness connector 314 is connected to the lightcommon lead.

Pins 7 and 5 of the right side auxiliary harness connector 314 arerespectively connected to the parking light feed and the right turnsignal feed. Pins 6 and 1 of the right side auxiliary harness connector314 are respectively connected to the parking light lead of theparking/turn light 44 and the right turn signal lead of the parking/turnlight 44. Pin 10 of the right side auxiliary harness connector 314 isconnected to the vehicle ground lead.

Referring now to the left side vehicle lighting electrical wiring, itmay be seen that the electrical connection between the high beamswitched feed and the high beam lead to the headlight 36 is cut, and theelectrical connection between the low beam switched feed and the lowbeam lead to the headlight 36 is cut. Likewise, the electricalconnection between the parking light feed and the parking light lead tothe parking/turn light 46 is cut, and the electrical connection betweenthe right turn light feed and the right turn light lead to theparking/turn light 46 is cut. However, the electrical connection betweenthe light common feed and the light common lead to the headlight 36 isnot cut, and the electrical connection between the vehicle ground feedand the vehicle ground lead to the parking/turn light 46 is not cut.

Pins 8 and 9 of the left side auxiliary harness connector 316 arerespectively connected to the high beam switched feed and the low beamswitched feed. Pins 3 and 4 of the left side auxiliary harness connector316 are respectively connected to the high beam lead of the headlight 36and the low beam lead of the headlight 36. Pin 2 of the left sideauxiliary harness connector 316 is connected to the light common lead.

Pins 6 and 5 of the left side auxiliary harness connector 316 arerespectively connected to the parking light feed and the left turnsignal feed. Pins 7 and 1 of the left side auxiliary harness connector316 are respectively connected to the parking light lead of theparking/turn light 46 and the left turn signal lead of the parking/turnlight 46. Pin 10 of the left side auxiliary harness connector 316 isconnected to the vehicle ground lead.

Turning now to FIG. 15, with regard to the right side accessory harness320, Pin 1 is connected to the right turn signal lead of theparking/turn light 56, Pin 2 is connected to the common lead of theheadlight 52, Pin 6 is connected to the parking light feed of theparking/turn light 56, Pin 8 is connected to the high beam lead of theheadlight 52, Pin 9 is connected to the low beam lead of the headlight52, and Pin 10 is connected to the ground lead of the parking/turn light56. With regard to the left side accessory harness 322, Pin 2 isconnected to the common lead of the headlight 54, Pin 3 is connected tothe high beam lead of the headlight 54, Pin 4 is connected to the lowbeam lead of the headlight 54, Pin 5 is connected to the left turnsignal lead of the parking/turn light 58, Pin 7 is connected to theparking light feed of the parking/turn light 58, and Pin 10 is connectedto the ground lead of the parking/turn light 58. The right sideaccessory harness 320 and the left side accessory harness 322 with thesewiring schematics will be used in all four of the embodiments of theindependent lighting energy interruption system of the present inventiondiscussed herein with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15, FIG. 16, FIG. 17,and FIGS. 18 and 19.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the firstembodiment of the independent lighting energy interruption system of thepresent invention illustrated in FIGS. 14 and 15 switches the hot leadsfrom the high and low beams in the headlights 32 and 36 of the vehicle30′ to the high and low beams in the headlights 52 and 54 of the vehicleaccessory 50. It also switches the hot leads from the markers and turnsignals in the parking/turn lights 44 and 46 of the vehicle 30′ to themarkers and turn signals in the parking/turn lights 58 and 58 of thevehicle accessory 50. When the right side vehicle harness connector 310and the left side vehicle harness connector 312 of the right sidevehicle harness connector 310 are connected together as shown in FIG.14, the headlights 32 and 36 and the parking/turn light 44 and 46 of thevehicle 30′ will be operative. If the right side vehicle harnessconnector 310 and the left side vehicle harness connector 312 are notconnected to each other, the headlights 32 and 36 and the parking/turnlight 44 and 46 of the vehicle 30′ will be inoperative.

Referring again to FIG. 15, the first embodiment of the independentlighting energy interruption system of the present invention is shown inthe second configuration (which is used when the vehicle accessory 50 isconnected to the vehicle 30′). When the right side vehicle harnessconnector 310 is connected to the right side accessory connector 324 andthe left side vehicle harness connector 312 is connected to the leftside accessory connector 326, the headlights 52 and 54 and theparking/turn lights 56 and 58 of the vehicle accessory 50 will beoperative, and the headlights 32 and 36 of the vehicle 30′ and theparking/turn light 44 and 46 will not be operative.

Referring next to FIG. 16, a second embodiment of the independentlighting energy interruption system of the present invention isillustrated which will be used with a vehicle 30′ which has connectorsused to make the lighting connections in the vehicle the vehicle 30′.The vehicle 30′ is shown as having the headlight plug 40 which would beconnected to the connector element 34 of the headlight 32 and theheadlight plug 42 which would be connected to the connector element 38of the headlight 36. In addition, the parking/turn light 44 isassociated with a connector element 330 located on the right side of thevehicle 30′ and the parking/turn light 46 is associated with a connectorelement 332 is located on the left side of the vehicle 30′. Aparking/turn plug 334 is shown for connection to the connector element330 on the parking/turn light 44, and a parking/turn plug 336 is shownfor connection to the connector element 332 on the parking/turn light46.

Instead of using the right side auxiliary harness portion 302 (shown inFIGS. 14 and 15) and the left side auxiliary harness portion 304 (alsoshown in FIGS. 14 and 15), a right side auxiliary harness portion 340and a left side auxiliary harness portion 342 are used. The right sideauxiliary harness portion 340 has a right side auxiliary harnessconnector 344 to connect it to the right side main harness connector 306of the main vehicle harness portion 300. The left side auxiliary harnessportion 342 has a left side auxiliary harness connector 346 to connectit to the left side main harness connector 308 of the main vehicleharness portion 300. The right side auxiliary harness portion 340 andthe left side auxiliary harness portion 342 are color coded in thesecond color (green in the example used herein), and are ten-pinconnectors.

Referring now to the right side auxiliary harness portion 340, it may beseen that it also includes a headlight connector 348 which is connectedto the connector element 34 of the headlight 32, a headlight powerconnector 350 which is connected to the headlight plug 40, aparking/turn light connector 352 which is connected to the connectorelement 330, and a parking/turn light power connector 354 which isconnected to the parking/turn plug 334. With regard to the left sideauxiliary harness portion 342, it may be seen that it also includes aheadlight connector 356 which is connected to the connector element 38of the headlight 36, a headlight power connector 358 which is connectedto the headlight plug 42, a parking/turn light connector 350 which isconnected to the connector element 332, and a parking/turn light powerconnector 362 which is connected to the parking/turn plug 336.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the secondembodiment of the independent lighting energy interruption system of thepresent invention illustrated in FIG. 16 includes the right sideauxiliary harness portion 340 and the left side auxiliary harnessportion 342 which may be installed by simply plugging the connectors ofthe right side auxiliary harness portion 340 and the left side auxiliaryharness portion 342 into the existing connectors of the electricalwiring of the illumination system of the vehicle 30′. Like the firstembodiment, the second embodiment operates by switching the hot leadsfrom the high and low beams in the headlights 32 and 36 of the vehicle30′ to the high and low beams in the headlights 52 and 54 of the vehicleaccessory 50 (shown in FIG. 15), and switching the hot leads from themarkers and turn signals in the parking/turn lights 44 and 46 of thevehicle 30′ to the markers and turn signals in the parking/turn lights58 and 58 of the vehicle accessory 50.

When the right side vehicle harness connector 310 and the left sidevehicle harness connector 312 of the right side vehicle harnessconnector 310 are connected together as shown in FIG. 16, the headlights32 and 36 and the parking/turn light 44 and 46 of the vehicle 30′ willbe operative. If the right side vehicle harness connector 310 and theleft side vehicle harness connector 312 are not connected to each other,the headlights 32 and 36 and the parking/turn lights 44 and 46 of thevehicle 30′ will be inoperative. When the right side vehicle harnessconnector 310 is connected to the right side accessory connector 324(shown in FIG. 15) and the left side vehicle harness connector 312 isconnected to the left side accessory connector 326 (shown in FIG. 15),the headlights 52 and 54 and the parking/turn lights 56 and 58 of thevehicle accessory 50 will be operative, and the headlights 32 and 36 andthe parking/turn lights 44 and 46 of the vehicle 30′ will not beoperative.

Referring now to FIG. 17, a third embodiment of the independent lightingenergy interruption system of the present invention is illustrated whichwill be used with a vehicle 30′ which has a different type of connectorsused to make the lighting connections for the headlights in the vehicle30′. The vehicle 30′ is shown as having the parking/turn plug 334 whichwould be connected to the connector element 330 of the parking/turnlight 46 and the parking/turn plug 336 which would be connected to theconnector element 332 of the parking/turn light 46.

In this particular vehicle 30′, the high and low beams are two discretelights rather than both being included in a single unit. Thus, a highbeam headlight 378 having a connector element 380 (typically prongsextending from the back side thereof) and a low beam headlight 382having a connector element 384 (typically prongs extending from the backside thereof) are located on the right side of the vehicle 30′, and ahigh beam headlight 386 having a connector element 388 (typically prongsextending from the back side thereof) and a low beam headlight 390having a connector element 392 (typically prongs extending from the backside thereof) are located on the left side of the vehicle 30′.

Referring now to the right side auxiliary harness portion 370, it may beseen that it includes the parking/turn light connector 352 which isconnected to the connector element 330 of the parking/turn light 44, andthe parking/turn light power connector 354 which is connected to theparking/turn plug 334. The right side auxiliary harness portion 370 alsoincludes a high beam headlight connector 402 which is connected to theconnector 380 of the high beam headlight 378, a high beam headlightpower connector 404 which is connected to the high beam headlight plug394, a low beam headlight connector 406 which is connected to theconnector 384 of the low beam headlight 382, and a low beam headlightpower connector 408 which is connected to the low beam headlight plug396.

Referring now to the left side auxiliary harness portion 372, it may beseen that it includes the parking/turn light connector 360 which isconnected to the connector element 332 of the parking/turn light 46, andthe parking/turn light power connector 362 which is connected to theparking/turn plug 336. The left side auxiliary harness portion 372 alsoincludes a high beam headlight connector 410 which is connected to theconnector 388 of the high beam headlight 386, a high beam headlightpower connector 412 which is connected to the high beam headlight plug398, a low beam headlight connector 414 which is connected to theconnector 392 of the low beam headlight 390, and a low beam headlightpower connector 416 which is connected to the low beam headlight plug400.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the thirdembodiment of the independent lighting energy interruption system of thepresent invention illustrated in FIG. 17 includes the right sideauxiliary harness portion 370 and the left side auxiliary harnessportion 372 which may be installed by simply plugging the connectors ofthe right side auxiliary harness portion 370 and the left side auxiliaryharness portion 372 into the existing connectors of the electricalwiring of the illumination system of the vehicle 30′. Like the first andsecond embodiments, the third embodiment operates by switching the hotleads from the high beam headlight 378, the low beam headlight 382, thehigh beam headlight 386, and the low beam headlight 390 of the vehicle30′ to the high beam in the headlight 52, the low beam in the headlight52, the high beam in the headlight 54, the low beam in the headlight 54,respectively, of the vehicle accessory 50 (shown in FIG. 15), andswitching the hot leads from the markers and turn signals in theparking/turn lights 44 and 46 of the vehicle 30′ to the markers and turnsignals in the parking/turn lights 58 and 58 of the vehicle accessory50.

When the right side vehicle harness connector 310 and the left sidevehicle harness connector 312 of the right side vehicle harnessconnector 310 are connected together as shown in FIG. 17, the high beamheadlight 378, the low beam headlight 382, the high beam headlight 386,and the low beam headlight 390 and the parking/turn lights 44 and 46 ofthe vehicle 30′ will be operative. If the right side vehicle harnessconnector 310 and the left side vehicle harness connector 312 are notconnected to each other, the high beam headlight 378, the low beamheadlight 382, the high beam headlight 386, and the low beam headlight390 and the parking/turn lights 44 and 46 of the vehicle 30′ will beinoperative. When the right side vehicle harness connector 310 isconnected to the right side accessory connector 324 (shown in FIG. 15)and the left side vehicle harness connector 312 is connected to the leftside accessory connector 326 (shown in FIG. 15), the headlights 52 and54 and the parking/turn lights 56 and 58 of the vehicle accessory 50will be operative, and the high beam headlight 378, the low beamheadlight 382, the high beam headlight 386, and the low beam headlight390 and the parking/turn lights 44 and 46 of the vehicle 30′ will not beoperative.

Referring next to FIG. 18, a fourth embodiment of the independentlighting energy interruption system of the present invention isillustrated which will be used with a vehicle 30′ which has a differenttype of connectors used to make the lighting connections for the parkingand marker lights in the vehicle. The vehicle 30′ is shown as having theconnector 380 of the high beam headlight 378, the connector 384 of thelow beam headlight 382, the connector 388 of the high beam headlight386, and the connector 392 of the low beam headlight 390, which would berespectively connected to the high beam headlight plug 394, the low beamheadlight plug 396, the high beam headlight plug 398, and the low beamheadlight plug 400.

In this particular vehicle 30′, the parking lights and the turn signalsare two discrete lights rather than both being included in a singleunit. Thus, a parking light 428 having a connector element 430 and aright turn light 432 having a connector element 434 are located on theright side of the vehicle 30′, and a parking light 436 having aconnector element 438 and a left turn light 440 having a connectorelement 442 are located on the left side of the vehicle 30′.

Referring now to the right side auxiliary harness portion 420, it may beseen that it includes the high beam headlight connector 402 which isconnected to the connector 380 of the high beam headlight 378, the highbeam headlight power connector 404 which is connected to the high beamheadlight plug 394, the low beam headlight connector 406 which isconnected to the connector 384 of the low beam headlight 382, and thelow beam headlight power connector 408 which is connected to the lowbeam headlight plug 396. The right side auxiliary harness portion 420also includes a parking light connector 452 which is connected to theconnector 430 of the parking light 428, a parking light power connector454 which is connected to the parking light plug 444, a right turn lightconnector 456 which is connected to the connector 434 of the right turnlight 432, and a right turn light power connector 458 which is connectedto the right turn light plug 446.

Referring now to the left side auxiliary harness portion 422, it may beseen that it includes the high beam headlight connector 410 which isconnected to the connector 388 of the high beam headlight 386, the highbeam headlight power connector 412 which is connected to the high beamheadlight plug 398, the low beam headlight connector 414 which isconnected to which is connected to the connector 392 of the low beamheadlight 390, and the low beam headlight power connector 416 which isconnected to the low beam headlight plug 400. The left side auxiliaryharness portion 422 also includes a parking light connector 460 which isconnected to the connector 438 of the parking light 436, a parking lightpower connector 462 which is connected to the parking light plug 448, aleft turn light connector 464 which is connected to the connector 442 ofthe left turn light 440, and a left turn light power connector 466 whichis connected to the left turn light plug 450.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the fourthembodiment of the independent lighting energy interruption system of thepresent invention illustrated in FIG. 18 includes the right sideauxiliary harness portion 420 and the left side auxiliary harnessportion 422 which may be installed by simply plugging the connectors ofthe right side auxiliary harness portion 420 and the left side auxiliaryharness portion 422 into the existing connectors of the electricalwiring of the illumination system of the vehicle 30′. Like the firstthree embodiments, the fourth embodiment operates by switching the hotleads from the high beam headlight 378, the low beam headlight 382, thehigh beam headlight 386, and the low beam headlight 390 of the vehicle30′ to the high beam in the headlight 52, the low beam in the headlight52, the high beam in the headlight 54, the low beam in the headlight 54,respectively, of the vehicle accessory 50 (shown in FIG. 15), andswitching the hot leads from the parking light 428, the right turn light432, the parking light 436, and the left turn light 440 of the vehicle30′ to the markers and turn signals in the parking/turn lights 58 and 58of the vehicle accessory 50.

When the right side vehicle harness connector 310 and the left sidevehicle harness connector 312 of the right side vehicle harnessconnector 310 are connected together as shown in FIG. 18, the high beamheadlight 378, the low beam headlight 382, the high beam headlight 386,the low beam headlight 390, the parking light 428, the right turn light432, the parking light 436, and the left turn light 440 of the vehicle30′ will be operative. If the right side vehicle harness connector 310and the left side vehicle harness connector 312 are not connected toeach other, the high beam headlight 378, the low beam headlight 382, thehigh beam headlight 386, the low beam headlight 390, the parking light428, the right turn light 432, the parking light 436, and the left turnlight 440 of the vehicle 30′ will be inoperative. When the right sidevehicle harness connector 310 is connected to the right side accessoryconnector 324 (shown in FIG. 15) and the left side vehicle harnessconnector 312 is connected to the left side accessory connector 326(shown in FIG. 15), the headlights 52 and 54 and the parking/turn lights56 and 58 of the vehicle accessory 50 will be operative, and the highbeam headlight 378, the low beam headlight 382, the high beam headlight386, the low beam headlight 390, the parking light 428, the right turnlight 432, the parking light 436, and the left turn light 440 of thevehicle 30′ will not be operative.

Referring next to FIG. 19, the fourth embodiment of the independentlighting energy interruption system of the present invention, which wasillustrated in FIG. 18, is illustrated is simplified form as it wouldlikely appear, with the same reference numerals used in FIG. 18 beingused in FIG. 19. The right side vehicle harness connector 310 is shownin position for connection to the right side accessory connector 324 tooperate the headlight 52 and the parking/turn light 56 on the vehicleaccessory 50 (the vehicle accessory 50 is not shown in FIG. 19), and theleft side vehicle harness connector 312 is shown in position forconnection to the left side accessory connector 326 to operate theheadlight 54 and the parking/turn light 58 on the vehicle accessory 50.In this position, the high beam headlight 378, the low beam headlight382, the high beam headlight 386, the low beam headlight 390, theparking light 428, the right turn light 432, the parking light 436, andthe left turn light 440 of the vehicle 30′ (the vehicle 30′ is not shownin FIG. 19) will be inoperative. The right side vehicle harnessconnector 310 and the left side vehicle harness connector 312 are shownin position for connection together in phantom lines to render the highbeam headlight 378, the low beam headlight 382, the high beam headlight386, the low beam headlight 390, the parking light 428, the right turnlight 432, the parking light 436, and the left turn light 440 operativewhen the vehicle accessory 50 has been removed from the vehicle 30′.

It may therefore be appreciated from the above detailed description ofthe preferred embodiment of the present invention that it teaches anindependent lighting system which facilitates the operation of auxiliaryheadlights by automatically disconnecting the vehicle headlightswhenever the auxiliary headlights are connected for operation with thelighting system of the vehicle. The independent lighting system of thepresent invention completely eliminates the need for any type of switchto choose between the vehicle headlights and the auxiliary headlightsdue to its design that allows the mere connection of the wiring harnessof the front-mounted vehicle accessory to the wiring harness of thevehicle to disconnect the vehicle headlights and to connect theauxiliary. The independent lighting system of the present invention alsoeliminates the need for any relays or additional electronic componentsto perform a switching function between the vehicle headlights and theauxiliary headlights.

The independent lighting system of the present invention features asimplified design which does not require any wiring or other connectionto the passenger compartment of the vehicle in which it is installed.The independent lighting system of the present invention is relativelysimple and quick to install, and that it requires neither advancedknowledge of vehicle electrical systems nor special tools in order toaccomplish its installation. The independent lighting system of thepresent invention provides sealed connectors to protect against theelements to which it will be exposed in operation, and does not relyupon the need for connector caps to protect its connectors, but rathereliminates the need for such caps entirely, thereby precluding thepossibility of their loss or misplacement.

The independent lighting system of the present invention is of aconstruction which is both durable and long lasting, and will requirelittle or no maintenance to be provided by the user throughout itsoperating lifetime. The independent lighting system of the presentinvention is also of inexpensive construction to enhance its marketappeal and to thereby afford it the broadest possible market. Finally,all of the aforesaid advantages and objectives of the independentlighting system of the present invention are achieved without incurringany substantial relative disadvantage.

Although the foregoing description of the independent lighting system ofthe present invention has been shown and described with reference toparticular embodiments and applications thereof, it has been presentedfor purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the invention to the particular embodiments andapplications disclosed. It will be apparent to those having ordinaryskill in the art that a number of changes, modifications, variations, oralterations to the invention as described herein may be made, none ofwhich depart from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Theparticular embodiments and applications were chosen and described toprovide the best illustration of the principles of the invention and itspractical application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the artto utilize the invention in various embodiments and with variousmodifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. All suchchanges, modifications, variations, and alterations should therefore beseen as being within the scope of the present invention as determined bythe appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breadth towhich they are fairly, legally, and equitably entitled.

1. An independent lighting energy interruption system for connecting anauxiliary headlight to the lighting system of a vehicle, the vehiclehaving a vehicle headlight and a headlight plug which supplies powerfrom the lighting system of the vehicle to the vehicle headlight, saidindependent lighting system comprising: a headlight connector forconnection to the vehicle headlight in place of the headlight plug; aheadlight power connector-for connection to the headlight plug; a firstauxiliary harness connector which is electrically connected to saidheadlight connector and to said headlight power connector; a firstharness connector which is electrically connected to a first interfaceconnector which is removably electrically connected to said firstauxiliary harness connector; a second harness connector for removableconnection to said first harness connector, wherein said second harnessconnector may be removably connected to said first harness connector toenable the operation of the vehicle headlight by the lighting system ofthe vehicle; and a third harness connector which is electricallyconnected to the auxiliary headlight, wherein said third harnessconnector may be removably connected to said first harness connector toenable the operation of the auxiliary headlight by the lighting systemof the vehicle.
 2. An independent lighting energy interruption system asdefined in claim 1, wherein either said second harness connector or saidthird harness connector, but not both said second harness connector andsaid third harness connector, may be connected to said first harnessconnector.
 3. An independent lighting energy interruption system asdefined in claim 1, wherein said first harness connector may beconnected to either of said second harness connector or said thirdharness connector, but said second harness connector may not beconnected to said third harness connector.
 4. An independent lightingenergy interruption system as defined in claim 3, wherein said firstharness connector is of a first gender and said second harness connectorand said third harness connector are of a second gender which isdifferent from said first gender.
 5. An independent lighting energyinterruption system as defined in claim 1, wherein said first harnessconnector, said second harness connector, and said third harnessconnector each have housings with integrated sealing elements such thatwhenever said first harness connector is connected to one of said secondharness connector and said third harness connector a seal is formedtherebetween.
 6. An independent lighting energy interruption system asdefined in claim 1, wherein said first auxiliary harness connector andsaid first interface connector each have housings with integratedsealing elements such that whenever said first auxiliary harnessconnector is connected to said first interface connector a seal isformed therebetween.
 7. An independent lighting energy interruptionsystem as defined in claim 1, wherein said first harness connector, saidsecond harness connector, and said third harness connector have housingswith an integral releasable locking latch such that said first harnessconnector will remain connected to the one of said second harnessconnector and said third harness connector it is connected to until saidlocking latch is released.
 8. An independent lighting energyinterruption system as defined in claim 1, wherein said first auxiliaryharness connector and said first interface connector have housings withan integral releasable locking latch such that said first auxiliaryharness connector will remain connected to said first interfaceconnector until said locking latch is released.
 9. An independentlighting energy interruption system as defined in claim 1, wherein thevehicle also has a turn signal light and the independent lighting systemalso has a turn signal light, and wherein said independent lightingenergy interruption system additionally comprises: a turn signalconnector for connection to the turn signal light of the vehicle, saidturn signal connector also being electrically connected to said firstauxiliary harness connector; wherein the turn signal light of theindependent lighting system is electrically connected to said thirdharness connector, whereby when said first harness connector isconnected to said third harness connector the turn signal light of theindependent lighting system will operate whenever the turn signal lightof the vehicle is operated.
 10. An independent lighting energyinterruption system as defined in claim 1, wherein the vehicle also hasa parking light and the independent lighting system also has a parkinglight, and wherein said independent lighting system additionallycomprises: a parking light connector for connection to the parking lightof the vehicle, said parking light connector also being electricallyconnected to said first auxiliary harness connector; wherein the parkinglight of the independent lighting system is electrically connected tosaid third harness connector, whereby when said first harness connectoris connected to said third harness connector the parking light of theindependent lighting system will operate whenever the parking light ofthe vehicle is operated.
 11. An independent lighting energy interruptionsystem as defined in claim 1, wherein the vehicle headlight and theauxiliary headlight each include a high beam light and a low beam light.12. An independent lighting energy interruption system as defined inclaim 11, wherein both said headlight connector and said headlight powerconnector are three pin connectors.
 13. An independent lighting energyinterruption system as defined in claim 1, wherein the vehicle has rightand left vehicle headlights respectively having right and left headlightplugs connected thereto to provide power from the lighting system of thevehicle to the right and left vehicle headlights, and wherein theindependent lighting system also has left and right auxiliaryheadlights, and wherein said headlight connector is connected to theright vehicle headlight in place of the right headlight plug, andwherein said headlight power connector is connected to the rightheadlight plug, and wherein said third harness connector is electricallyconnected to one of the right and left auxiliary headlights, saidindependent lighting system additionally comprising: a second headlightconnector for connection to the left vehicle headlight in place of theleft headlight plug; a second headlight power connector for connectionto the left headlight plug; a second auxiliary harness connector whichis electrically connected to said second headlight connector and to saidsecond headlight power connector; a second interface connector which iselectrically connected to said second harness connector, said secondinterface connector being removably electrically connected to saidsecond auxiliary harness connector; and a fourth harness connector whichis electrically connected to-the other of the right and left auxiliaryheadlights, wherein said fourth harness connector may be removablyconnected to said second harness connector to enable the operation ofthe other of the right and left auxiliary headlights by the lightingsystem of the vehicle.
 14. An independent lighting energy interruptionsystem as defined in claim 13, wherein the right and left vehicleheadlights and the right and left auxiliary headlights each include ahigh beam light and a low beam light and each have a high beamelectrical lead, a low beam electrical lead, and a common electricallead, and wherein the right and left headlight plugs each have a highbeam electrical feed, a low beam electrical feed, and a commonelectrical feed, and wherein said headlight connector and said secondheadlight connector each have a high beam electrical feed, a low beamelectrical feed, and a common electrical feed, and wherein saidheadlight power connector and said second headlight power connector eachhave a high beam electrical lead, a low beam electrical lead, and acommon electrical lead.
 15. An independent lighting energy interruptionsystem as defined in claim 14, wherein when said first and third harnessconnectors are connected together and when said second and fourthharness connectors are connected together, the high beam electrical leadand the:low beam electrical lead of each of the right and left vehicleheadlights are respectively electrically disconnected from the high beamelectrical feed and the low beam electrical feed from each of the rightand left headlight plugs.
 16. An independent lighting energyinterruption system as defined in claim 1, wherein said second harnessconnector includes electrical jumper connections therein to enable theoperation of the vehicle headlight by the lighting system of the vehiclewhen said second harness connector is connected to said first harnessconnector.
 17. An independent lighting energy interruption system forconnecting first and second auxiliary headlights on a vehicle accessoryto the lighting system of a vehicle, the vehicle having first and secondvehicle headlights and first and second headlight plugs whichrespectively provide power from the lighting system of the vehicle tothe first and second vehicle headlights, said independent lightingsystem comprising: a first headlight connector for connection to thefirst vehicle headlight in place of the first headlight plug; a secondheadlight connector for connection to the second vehicle headlight inplace of the second headlight plug; a first headlight power connectorfor connection to the first headlight plug; a second headlight powerconnector for connection to the second headlight plug; a first auxiliaryharness connector which is electrically connected to said firstheadlight connector and to said first headlight power connector; asecond auxiliary harness connector which is electrically connected tosaid second headlight connector and to said second headlight powerconnector; a first harness connector which is electrically connected toa first interface connector which is removably electrically connected tosaid first auxiliary harness connector; a second harness connector whichis electrically connected to a second interface connector which isremovably electrically connected to said second auxiliary harnessconnector, wherein said second harness connector may be connected tosaid first harness connector to enable the operation of the first andsecond vehicle headlights by the lighting system of the vehicle; a thirdharness connector which is electrically connected to the first auxiliaryheadlight, wherein said third harness connector may be connected to saidfirst harness connector to enable the operation of the first auxiliaryheadlight by the lighting system of the vehicle; and a fourth harnessconnector which is electrically connected to the second auxiliaryheadlight, wherein said fourth harness connector may be connected tosaid second harness connector to enable the operation of the secondauxiliary headlight by the lighting system of the vehicle.
 18. Anindependent lighting energy interruption system as defined in claim 17,additionally comprising at least one electrical connection between oneof said first harness connector and said first interface connector onthe one hand and one of said second harness connector and said secondinterface connector on the other hand.
 19. An independent lightingenergy interruption system as defined in claim 17, wherein either saidsecond harness connector or said third harness connector, but not bothsaid second harness connector and said third harness connector, may beconnected to said first harness connector, and wherein either said firstharness connector or said fourth harness connector, but not both saidfirst harness connector and said fourth harness connector, may beconnected to said second harness connector.
 20. An independent lightingenergy interruption system as defined in claim 17, wherein said firstharness connector may be connected to either of said second harnessconnector or said third harness connector, but said second harnessconnector may not be connected to said third harness connector, andwherein said second harness connector may be connected to either of saidfirst harness connector or said fourth harness connector, but said firstharness connector may not be connected to said fourth harness connector.21. An independent lighting energy interruption system as defined inclaim 17, wherein said first harness connector and said fourth harnessconnector are of a first gender and said second harness connector andsaid third harness connector are of a second gender which is differentfrom said first gender.
 22. An independent lighting energy interruptionsystem as defined in claim 17, wherein said first harness connector,said second harness connector, said third harness connector, and saidfourth harness connector each have housings with integrated sealingelements such that whenever said first harness connector is connected toone of said second harness connector and said third harness connector aseal is formed therebetween and whenever said second harness connectoris connected to one of said first harness connector and said fourthharness connector a seal is formed therebetween.
 23. An independentlighting energy interruption system as defined in claim 17, wherein saidfirst harness connector, said second harness connector, said thirdharness connector, and said fourth harness connector have housings withan integral releasable locking latch such that said first harnessconnector will remain connected to the one of said second harnessconnector and said third harness connector it is connected to until saidlocking latch is released, and said second harness connector will remainconnected to the one of said first harness connector and said fourthharness connector it is connected to until said locking latch isreleased.
 24. An independent lighting energy interruption system asdefined in claim 17, wherein the vehicle also has right and left turnsignal lights and the independent lighting system also has right andleft turn signal lights, and wherein said independent lighting energyinterruption system additionally comprises: a right turn signalconnector for connection to the right turn signal light of the vehicle,said right turn signal connector also being electrically connected tosaid first auxiliary harness connector; a left turn signal connector forconnection to the left turn signal light of the vehicle, said left turnsignal connector also being electrically connected to said secondauxiliary harness connector; wherein the right turn signal light of theindependent lighting system is electrically connected to said thirdharness connector, whereby when said first harness connector isconnected to said third harness connector the right turn signal light ofthe independent lighting system will operate whenever the lightingsystem of the vehicle causes the right turn signal light to be operated;and wherein the left turn signal light of the independent lightingsystem is electrically connected to said fourth harness connector,whereby when said second harness connector is connected to said fourthharness connector the left turn signal light of the independent lightingsystem will operate whenever the lighting system of the vehicle causesthe left turn signal light to be operated.
 25. An independent lightingenergy interruption system as defined in claim 24, wherein saidindependent lighting energy interruption system is arranged andconfigured to cause the right turn signal light of the vehicle not tooperate when said first and third harness connectors are connectedtogether and to cause the left turn signal light of the vehicle not tooperate when said second and fourth harness connectors are connectedtogether.
 26. An independent lighting energy interruption system asdefined in claim 17, wherein the vehicle also has right and left parkinglights and the independent lighting system also has right and leftparking lights, and wherein said independent lighting energyinterruption system additionally comprises: a right parking lightconnector for connection to the right parking light of the vehicle, saidright parking light connector also being electrically connected to saidfirst auxiliary harness connector; a left parking light connector forconnection to the left parking light of the vehicle, said left parkinglight connector also being electrically connected to said secondauxiliary harness connector; wherein the right parking light of theindependent lighting system is electrically connected to said thirdharness connector, whereby when said first harness connector isconnected to said third harness connector the right parking light of theindependent lighting system will operate whenever the lighting system ofthe vehicle causes the parking lights to be operated; and wherein theleft parking light of the independent lighting system is electricallyconnected to said fourth harness connector, whereby when said secondharness connector is connected to said fourth harness connector the leftparking light of the independent lighting system will operate wheneverthe lighting system of the vehicle causes the parking lights to beoperated.
 27. An independent lighting energy interruption system asdefined in claim 26, wherein said independent lighting energyinterruption system is arranged and configured to cause the rightparking light of the vehicle not to operate when said first and thirdharness connectors are connected together and to cause the left parkinglight of the vehicle not to operate when said second and fourth harnessconnectors are connected together.
 28. An independent lighting energyinterruption system as defined in claim 17, wherein said first andsecond harness connectors and said first and second interface connectorstogether comprises a universal main vehicle harness which may be usedwith virtually any vehicle, and wherein said first and second auxiliaryharness connectors each comprise wiring and connectors designed forinstallation on a particular vehicle to facilitate easy installation onthe selected vehicle.
 29. An independent lighting energy interruptionsystem for connecting an auxiliary headlight to the lighting system of avehicle, the vehicle having a vehicle headlight and a headlight plugwhich provides power to the vehicle headlight, said independent lightingsystem comprising: a headlight connector for connection to the vehicleheadlight in place of the headlight plug; a headlight power connectorfor connection to the headlight plug; a first auxiliary harnessconnector which is electrically connected to said headlight connectorand to said headlight power connector; a universal vehicle harness whichis electrically connected to a first interface connector and to a firstharness connector, said first interface connector for electricalconnection to said first auxiliary harness connector; a second harnessconnector for removable connection to said first harness connector toenable the operation of the vehicle headlight; and a third harnessconnector which is electrically connected to the auxiliary headlight,said third harness connector for removable connection to said firstharness connector to enable the operation of the auxiliary headlight.30. A method of connecting an auxiliary headlight to the lighting systemof a vehicle, the vehicle having a vehicle headlight and a headlightplug which supplies power from the lighting system of the vehicle to thevehicle headlight, said method comprising: connecting a headlightconnector to the vehicle headlight in place of the headlight plug, saidheadlight connector being electrically connected to a first auxiliaryharness connector; connecting a headlight power connector to theheadlight plug, said headlight power connector also being electricallyconnected to said first auxiliary harness connector; connecting saidfirst auxiliary harness adapter to a first interface connector on auniversal vehicle harness which is electrically connected to a firstharness connector; removably connecting a second harness connector tosaid first harness connector to enable the operation of the vehicleheadlight by the lighting system of the vehicle; and removablyconnecting a third harness connector which is electrically connected tothe auxiliary headlight to said first harness connector to enable theoperation of the first auxiliary headlight by the lighting system of thevehicle.